


The Island

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: Cap_Ironman Bingo 2015 [19]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Cap_Ironman Bingo, Exotic Locales, M/M, Stony Bingo, merman!Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 18:22:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5795014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's been on the the island for a few weeks now, and while Tony wants to go home, the idea of leaving Steve there makes him doubt his decision. AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Island

**Author's Note:**

> Bingo! For Exotic Locales. This one takes place on a fantasy island. Yep. These all need to be posted before time's up.

 

            "Eventually I'm going to need to find a way home," Tony said, reaching out his left arm to pick a beautiful blooming red and white flower. It was like nothing he'd ever seen until he got stuck on this damn island, but... it wasn't all bad. Tony ran his right hand across his left arm, glad to find that everything seemed right again. When the ship crashed in the storm, his left arm had been broken long before he washed up onshore. Or, rather, was _dragged_ onshore.

            "Do you have to?" Tony's companion, Steve, asked from where he was stretched out in the sun, lower half still resting in the water. "You could just stay here with me, Tony. I'd keep you safe."

            In the past few weeks, he'd been anything but safe until he decided to stick by Steve's side. Steve was his savior, the one who pulled him out of the shipwreck and brought him to the island, but at first Tony hadn't wanted anything to do with him. He's stayed as far from Steve as he possibly could, until he was attacked by a shark, and Steve rescued him again. After that, he stuck by Steve's side. It wasn't always easy, but it was better than being eaten by the giant plants, or chased by the local wildlife that Tony had never seen before. But then again, _everything_ on this island was like nothing Tony had ever seen before.

            "I could stay here," Tony murmured, laughing to himself. It wasn't like anyone would be coming to get him, right? No one had actually known that he'd taken the ship out, and no one had known where he was going. But there were some friends that he wanted to get back to... Tony sighed. "I just need to finish building the raft, Steve. I appreciate all of your help, I really do, but I don't think I could ever live here. _Everything_ wants to kill me."

            "Not me," Steve pointed out, rolling over onto his stomach so that he could rest his chin on his hands. His long, shimmering blue tail curled up behind him, dripping onto his back. And there was the reason why Tony couldn't just take Steve back with him. Steve was a merman, the first Tony had ever seen. He'd heard that mythological creatures existed, but he wasn't sure if he ever _believed_ them. Not until he met Steve, at least.

            "Not you," Tony agreed, walking over and taking a seat beside the merman. Tony leaned over, sticking the flower behind Steve's ear. The merman looked pleased, grinning at Tony. "But there are some people back at home who probably think I'm dead, but are hopefully praying that I'll come back to them. If I stayed here... I can't do that, Steve."

            He hated seeing Steve frown, because he always looked like a kicked puppy. "But Tony..."

            "No buts," Tony said with a sigh. "I'll have to leave eventually... You knew that, and you've been helping me build the raft for a while now."

            "I know," Steve muttered, and he pouted before slipping back into the river. He kept his nose and eyes above the water, and the bright red flower stayed in place. "But that doesn't mean that I'm going to be happy about it." Steve blew a few bubbles in the water as he pouted before he asked, "What if I came with you?"

            Tony thought about that for a moment. He lived right on the edge of the ocean, far away from most people other than his close friends. And Tony also knew that Steve had a human form that he could take, though he wasn't very fond of it. What if Steve came along, but then decided that he didn't like it there? Could Tony really let him go after that? He was already finding that it would be difficult to say goodbye to Steve after the last few weeks, but it might be possible. If he brought Steve home with him, it would _really_ hurt to say goodbye.

            "Would you really want to? I mean, I'd love for you to come with me, but wouldn't you miss being a merman always? If you came back with me, you wouldn't be able to always be a merman..." Tony said.

            "I know," Steve murmured, floating on his back as he swam back over towards Tony. "I want to meet your friends. There's no one on this island, and I get lonely... You're the first person I've found in a long time, and I really like you. You wouldn't care if I joined you? I don't know if you'd rather just get away from me or not."

            "No, don't think that," Tony said, hopping into the river. He hadn't always been the strongest swimmer, due to a slight fear of the ocean, but Steve had helped him through it, and now he could swim better than ever. The merman grinned and wrapped his arms around Tony, keeping an eye on him due to the newly healed arm. "I'd love for you to come back with me, I just don't know if _you_ would want to. I don't want to force you to stay human if you'd rather be a merman."

            "I just want to be around you," Steve said, pulling the flower from behind his ear before placing it behind Tony's ear instead. Tony watched as the merman disappeared back underwater. Steve always looked so graceful when he was swimming underwater, carefree and alive and just so beautiful.

            Tony smiled to himself as he thought of how things could be. His friends would be so happy that he wasn't dead once he figured out how to get home, and Tony was sure that they'd all love Steve. He was just one of those people that everyone seemed to be able to love. And he couldn't deny the budding feelings that he'd been having for the merman for a while now, even if Steve didn't feel the same. Life with Steve around would just be... _better_.

            "Let's get you back to your friends," Steve murmured, helping Tony up out of the water. The merman followed him with a little bit of hesitation, shimmering scales seeming to fall off into water droplets as legs appeared instead of the familiar fish tail. Tony quickly took his hands, trying to support him as Steve stayed standing. He didn't typically _ever_ shift to human form, so he didn't have the best balance.

            The two headed over towards the beach, where the raft was being built, and Tony couldn't help but smile as he walked side by side with Steve. The leaves of the trees were flourishing, and to get through the forest, they had to push past so many flowers and branches, leaves and bushes and plants. The island itself, apart from all of the dangerous creatures that inhabited the place, was stunningly beautiful, so much more than Tony had ever seen in any other hand where he'd lived. But beautiful as his island was, it was nothing compared to the merman who had stolen his heart.


End file.
